Harry Potter and the Tiger's Eye
by JJMel
Summary: It is Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts and there are two new transfer students. Both are quite friendly and intriguing. Someone, however, is hiding great powers that will blow your mind...and his.
1. The Capture

Chapter One  
  
The Capture  
  
"Get up, boy," shouted Aunt Petunia to young Harry Potter. The skinny, 14- year-old boy slowly stood up and turned on the lights. Harry was pulling on an old shirt as Aunt Petunia rapped on the door again.  
  
" Are you up yet? Breakfast is ready," she called impatiently. Harry lived with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley Dursley at number four Privet Drive. They had never shown the least bit of kindness to him and, ever since he had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry five years ago, they had been afraid he would use his powers against them. Harry Potter would seem to be a normal boy, aside from his unique lightning shaped scar, but he was hardly that.  
Harry opened the door of his small bedroom and stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley were already sitting around the table eating grapefruit quarters. Aunt Petunia glared at Harry and handed him his quarter of a grapefruit.  
"How do you like your grapefruit Dudders darling," asked Aunt Petunia. In reply Dudley cursed under his breath. "Oh my poor Duddy dear," Aunt Petunia cried sympathetically. Dudley had been on a strict diet for the past year. His school nurse had ordered the diet. To make Dudley feel better, Aunt Petunia had insisted that the rest of the family follow the diet as well.  
Luckily, Harry's friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Hagrid, knew about the situation and sent him food. Ron's mother had made Harry an early birthday cake with a note attached to it saying,  
Dear Harry,  
I hope you are well. Ron's told me that they still have you on  
that dreadful diet. The last thing you need is to lose more weight,  
so I sent you this cake. We'll try to arrange a time when we can pick  
you up and have you spend the rest of the summer with us.  
  
Sincerely,  
Mrs. Weasley The cake and note were now resting under a loose floorboard in Harry's room along with the food sent by Hermione and Hagrid.  
Harry finished his small portion of grapefruit and went up to his bedroom to finish his remaining assignments in Potions and Herbology. He pulled out the heaviest book from his trunk at the foot of his bed. The cover of the book read Potions: Level 4 by Joan Stirren in scrolly writing. He carefully opened the leather-bound book and began to read. Harry had to write an essay on the various types of sleeping potions, but he didn't know where to begin. He chose an interesting looking page and began to read.  
Draught of the Living Dead  
The Draught of the Living Dead is one of the most powerful  
sleeping potions deemed lawful. A wizard by the name of William  
Rupertson discovered it in the 16th century. The two main ingredients  
in this potion are powdered root of asphodel and wormwood  
infusion(s). This potion is not to be handled by underage wizards.  
Harry ran a hand through his untidy black hair and gave a heavy sigh. Potions was not his best subject and the Potions master, Professor Snape, was not his favorite teacher. Harry dipped his quill into the inkbottle and began writing his essay; pausing occasionally to glance out the window to see if Hedwig, his Snowy post-owl, was back yet. Harry hoped that she'd have a letter for him from Ron, Hermione, or maybe Sirius, Harry's godfather.  
Not much later, Harry's thoughts were pulled away from his essay. It was deep in summer and his room had become stiflingly hot. So Harry picked up his Potions book, parchment, and quill and headed for the door. Before he reached it, he turned back a moment to quickly snack on a sugar-free cookie from Hermione. As he replaced the loose floorboard where all of his extra food was hidden his hands slipped and he dropped the board loudly into place. Panicked, Harry looked around and listened to see if any of the Dursleys had heard it, but it didn't seem like they had so he continued out of his room.  
Harry lazily managed to drag himself out of the house and lay down on the grass to finish his homework. It was still surprisingly hot outside so he slid himself into the shade of the bushes. He worked for a while on the dreadful Potions essay, but soon began to dream. In his dream, Harry saw an animal-like shadow coming towards him. As it drew near he was suddenly paralyzed as the shadow covered him and stopped his breath. Harry's eyes flew open and he realized that he had turned his face into the grass making it hard for him to breathe. He turned over and decided he should go back inside. Harry slowly walked up the stairs towards his room. Dudley could be heard playing video games in the room next to Harry's, but as Harry neared his open door he heard Aunt Petunia muttering to herself from inside his room. Harry peered around the edge of the door just in time to see Aunt Petunia pull up the loose floorboard where Harry's food was hidden and gasp. She spun around, infuriated, to see Harry turning to run down the stairs. She yelled and narrowly missed him with the floorboard she was still grasping in her bony hands.  
Uncle Vernon rushed over to the staircase shouting, "Petunia! What's the matter?" he stopped abruptly on the bottom step of the staircase when he spotted Harry. "YOU," he thundered, freezing Harry dead in his tracks. There was no way of escaping, so Harry unwillingly surrendered. Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry and growled, "What have you done, boy?"  
"He's been hiding sweets under the floorboard!" shrieked Aunt Petunia, pointing an accusing finger at Harry and waving the board in the air. This made Uncle Vernon more furious than usual since he had been forced to follow the extreme diet just as Aunt Petunia did. Uncle Vernon glowered at Harry and pulled him into the living room to give him a punishment. By that time, Dudley had waddled out of his room to see what was going on.  
Harry's punishment turned out to be a week without breakfasts and dinners. He didn't know how he'd be able to find more food but he'd have to find a way. Harry had been given this punishment only once before, but then, he had snuck food out of the kitchen. This time he wouldn't be able to do that. Aunt Petunia knew exactly how much food was in the household. She kept an inventory to be sure Dudley didn't stray from his diet as he had done several times previous.  
After Aunt Petunia threw away all of the food Harry had hidden and Uncle Vernon nailed the loose floorboard back down, Harry was allowed back into his room. He immediately wrote letters to Ron and Hermione telling them all about what had happened. In the letters he also asked if they had any ideas on where to hide the food he hoped they would be sending. He knew they would come through for him, they always had.  
"Hedwig. Wake up," Harry said gently. Hedwig woke and flew around for a minute to stretch, then landed silently back on her perch. She looked at Harry intently as he told her, "I'm going to need you to fly these letters to Ron and Hermione very quickly. They'll be sending back packages which I'll need you to bring back when it's dark, okay?" Hedwig hooted softly to say she understood. "I'll leave the window open at night," he went on, "and when you bring me the packages you can't make any noise." Hedwig nipped Harry affectionately then left to deliver the messages.  
It was still only two o'clock in the afternoon so Harry went back to writing his essay on sleeping potions. He wasn't hungry yet, but he hoped Hedwig would return before the next day. Harry tried to keep his mind off the impending problem and started concentrating on his essay. Hopefully he could finish it before nightfall.  
Many hours later, Harry was finally finished with his tedious essay. He screwed the lid back onto his inkbottle, cleaned and put away his quill, and carefully put back the leather-bound Potions book and his roll of parchment. Then he checked the window to make sure it was open and pulled on his pajamas. Before going to bed, he crossed off another day on his calendar counting down to the day when he went back to Hogwarts.  
The next morning Aunt Petunia made Harry sit at the table while everyone else ate, just so he could see what he was missing (which wasn't much, but it was still food). Breakfast went extremely slow that morning. Of course, Dudley ate as slow as he possibly could, because torturing Harry was one of his favorite pastimes. After his meager lunch, Harry lay in bed wondering when Hedwig would return. His stomach growled hungrily at him. Harry glanced longingly at Hedwig's empty cage and sighed, closing his eyes. He slowly began to drift away.  
He was suddenly woken by a scratching noise. Harry swung around to see a large Barn owl clawing at his bedroom window. Harry's stomach gave a lurch. He had forgotten to reopen the window. Harry scrambled to the window and pushed it open. The large owl swooped in and dropped a message on his bed. Harry watched the owl soar out into the night sky; the sun had already set. He bit his lip, what if Hedwig had already come. Harry grimaced at the thought. Slowly, Harry opened the small envelope, the note enclosed said  
Harry,  
I've spent most of my summer with Lupin working against You-Know-Who.  
I am hidden safely away from the dementors, who are frustrated with  
the way I've disappeared. The Ministry of Magic is worried sick over  
you just as I am. In light of the recent death caused by Voldemort  
(don't think on it), I don't believe he is planning to go after you  
just yet. He wants something first, but I'm not quite sure what.  
Dumbledore agrees that you can go to the Weasley's house for now. I  
have notified Ron of this and found they were planning on picking you  
up anyhow.  
I am ecstatic to say Lupin and I have finally found Pettigrew, well  
actually Buckbeak did. He sauntered in with Peter (the filthy traitor)  
in his grasp. Lupin put Peter in a jar then performed the Unbreakable  
Charm on it. He is on his way to London with Peter. I will be at his  
side as Snuffles. We hope to clear my name and possibly gain custody  
of you someday.  
Sincerely,  
Sirius  
Excitement was bubbling up inside Harry and for a few minutes, he forgot his hunger. He had to suppress a shout that would've woken the Dursleys. This was the best news he had heard in quite a long time. Harry checked his watch and decided to do some Herbology.  
After about an hour, Harry finally gave up. It was no use trying to concentrate on his assignment. He slipped into his pajamas and let his mind wander back to Sirius's letter. In no time, he was fast asleep and dreaming of a Dursley-free life.  
  
Harry woke with a start. It was one o'clock in the morning and something had landed heavily onto his bed. He looked around and saw Hedwig circle above him. Then she flew out the window when she knew he had seen the large parcel sitting at his feet. Harry sighed thankfully; it was from Ron.  
He tore open the package to find there was a note suspended above an empty food platter. Harry curiously waved his hand in between the platter and the note, but pulled it away quickly. His hand was covered from the wrist down in some sort of invisible gel that smelled sweet. Harry frowned, "what did he send me," he muttered aloud. Carefully, Harry picked up the note and unfolded it leaving the gooey substance wherever he touched the parchment.  
Dear Harry,  
Showed Mum your letter, she went berserk! She made you another  
cake and put an invisibility spell on it. Tap it three times with  
your wand to make it appear and tap it once to make it invisible  
again. Be careful where you put it or the icing will get everywhere.  
Ron  
P.S. Mum and Dad say we could pick you up this Thursday on your  
Birthday! Be ready by two PM See you soon!  
Harry, no longer puzzled, gently tapped the silver platter three times. A chocolate cake with thick brown icing suddenly appeared on the platter. Harry looked at his hands, which were now covered in dark chocolate icing. "Urgh," he groaned as he noticed that the brown icing was all over his clothing.  
Harry heard the stairs tremble under Dudley's unbearable weight as he trudged up the stairs. Without thinking, Harry tapped the platter once and shoved it into his trunk. The icing he was covered in from head to toe was now invisible as well.  
When Harry was certain Dudley had gone into his room, he crept into the bathroom to wash his hands. Then he stole back into his bedroom and changed his clothes. The next morning Harry stared distastefully at his reflection. His thick black hair was untidy as usual. His bright green eyes roved around the image of his face and landed on a thin lightning-shaped scar. Harry's scar, like him, was most unusual. He had been given the strange scar the night both of his parents were murdered by the most powerful dark wizard of the century, Lord Voldemort. Once Voldemort had killed Harry's parents, he had attempted to murder Harry also. Unfortunately for Voldemort, the curse rebounded upon himself and Harry escaped with nothing but a scar. Voldemort's powers diminished, leaving him weak. After living in hiding for thirteen years, Voldemort managed to come back to power in Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts. Harry tried unsuccessfully to tidy his hair, but it was a losing battle. He checked his watch. Then he pulled out his Charms book and the empty platter. He had to read pages 300-332 on the Viprodist Charm. He tapped the platter with his wand and popped a piece of cake into his mouth. He never thought cake could taste so good. "Breakfast," screeched Aunt Petunia. In no time Dudley could be heard waddling down the stairs. Harry gulped down another mouthful of chocolate cake. He couldn't wait until Thursday; he loved staying with the Weasleys and Hermione. Though Harry hadn't heard from her in a while, in her last letter she'd mentioned something about her cousin. Harry glanced at Sirius's letter and grabbed another piece of cake. He hadn't written to his godfather in quite some time and he really wanted to know how things were going. Harry unscrewed the lid and dipped his eagle quill into the ink.  
Dear Sirius,  
I'm so happy for you. I can hardly believe you caught Wormtail. But I  
don't understand why he would come anywhere near you and abandon You-  
Know-Who. Something must have gone wrong. Anyway it will be nice when  
I can move in, the muggles are starving me again. Harry paused, that was it! He could tell the Dursleys he was writing to Sirius. The Dursleys were scared stiff of Sirius because he was a convicted murderer and if Harry was mistreated he would surely let Sirius know. Harry chuckled and went on with his letter. He knew Sirius was innocent and wouldn't hurt them, but they didn't.  
Mrs. Weasley sent me a birthday cake, though. Give Buckbeak a pat for  
me. Good luck!  
Harry  
Harry screwed the cap back onto the inkbottle and put his letter to Sirius on his dresser for Hedwig to deliver. Absentmindedly Harry tapped the platter and set it in his chest along with his Charms book. He shut the chest and sauntered down the stairs to the kitchen.  
Uncle Vernon glowered at him over the morning paper. "You're late," he grunted. Harry smiled "I was just finishing a letter to Sirius." Uncle Vernon went red grasping the paper so tightly his knuckles went white. Aunt Petunia who'd had her back to Harry turned around suddenly. Uncle Vernon set down his paper. "Well what did you tell him?" he asked ferociously. Harry's grin broadened, he'd said the magic words. "Oh, he just wanted to know how I was doing so I answered him." Aunt Petunia's horse-like face was pale. She shot Uncle Vernon a horrified look. Cautiously she handed Harry a quarter of a grapefruit. Uncle Vernon grunted disapprovingly and Dudley gave Harry a dirty look. Harry ate his grapefruit silently. Dudley having already eaten his own eyed Harry's hungrily. A few days later, Hedwig returned with a package from Hermione. She hooted softly as he removed her burden. Harry was relieved to see Hedwig again. She was the only creature at number four Privet Drive who didn't flinch when she saw him. Harry tore open Hermione's letter and read.  
Dear Harry,  
I got your letter. I have included in this package some sugar-  
free cookies all the way from Galleon Avenue, North Carolina. I'm  
spending the Summer Holidays with my cousin Melanie Bowman in  
America. We've been riding parasies (winged horses) in the mountains  
here called the Besset. It's amazing! The Besset is a small string of  
mountains that outlines Galleon Avenue. They're full of magical  
creatures like the parasies. Melanie owns a dapple-gray named Sir  
Callahan; he's a purebred. I'm riding one named Eaglewings (she's a  
half muggle horse who reminds me of Buckbeack). Wish you were here  
it's beautiful! See you on the Hogwarts Express. Melanie will be  
joining us there; she's transferring to Hogwarts!  
Love From,  
Hermione  
  
P.S. Here's an article from the Daily Prophet. It will be a few days  
old by the time you get it. I thought you might like to read it  
anyway. It's the only one like it. I expect Fudge is trying to shut  
it up. Harry unrolled the daily Prophet and read,  
  
A "Dark" Attack?  
The rumors that You-Know-Who may have regained his powers are not  
far from the truth, writes Margaret Munkford. Many fear that You-  
Know-Who will begin a rampage of massive destruction. "He's just  
biding his time," say's the young Edward Goodman. Some believe that  
each second we wait is more painful than what we're waiting for. But  
the question on everyone's minds is "who will be the first to go?"  
Will it be the followers that betrayed him or the one wizard he  
failed to kill? Startling enough it seems to be neither. An elderly  
witch by the name of Cynthia Robinson was found dead in her living  
room at 1:05 this morning. Harry gazed bewilderedly at the black robed wizards covering the woman's body. Instantly he knew that this was the death Sirius had spoken of in his letter. Harry wondered what Voldemort was looking for, but there were no clues in the article.  
Investigators from the ministry of magic insist that the murderer  
could not have been You-Know-Who, but rumors say otherwise.  
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic refused to comment on this  
remark. Was this simply a coincidence or has the Dark Lord struck?  
Harry grimaced; there would certainly be rumors now, but maybe they would help to spread the truth. The writers for The Daily Prophet seemed to have a knack for creating rumors. He just hoped there would be no panic. Harry snatched up Hermione's letter. Now the ministry would be worried sick over him for sure. He didn't care what they thought. He was more worried about everyone else and knew from Sirius's letter that he was safe for now. Harry sighed heavily and went back to Hermione's letter.  
He pulled some pictures out from behind the letter that he hadn't noticed before. Hedwig ruffled her feathers and flew over to her cage. The first picture showed Galleon Avenue, a town that reminded Harry of Hogsmead and Diagon Alley put together. He'd read about Galleon Avenue in A History of Magic. The next picture portrayed the Besset Mountains. Their snowy peaks barely fit into the picture. In the center stood Hermione and another girl that had to be Melanie, her cousin, but he couldn't tell with their hair blowing in every direction. They waved furiously at him and behind them two horse-like creatures bobbed their heads and flapped their enormous wings.  
Harry put the pictures and the letter in his school chest then took out a single cookie and stuffed the remainder into the chest as well. As he shut the lid a third picture fluttered to the ground. The silver writing on the back read Melanie and Sir Callahan. Harry flipped it over. A pretty girl about his age with shoulder length sandy blonde hair and blue/auburn eyes smiled at him, patting her parasies happily.  
All of the sudden a feathery tennis ball ricocheted across the room hooting shrilly. Harry snatched it in mid air and found it to be Pigwidgeon, Ron's pocket-sized owl. It was all he could do to hold Pig down while he untied the note. His high-pitched hoots echoed around the room. Harry stuffed Pig into his pocket and listened to see if anyone had heard the racket, but all he could hear were Dudley's tremendous snores. Once Pig had settled down he placed him into Hedwig's cage and unrolled the note.  
Harry- we are picking you up at noon tomorrow. Get your stuff  
together.  
Ron Harry glanced at his calendar it was only Tuesday. He was grateful to be leaving early; he could enjoy his birthday for once. He sent Pig on his way and packed up all his things.  
  
At the breakfast table on Wednesday morning, Harry told the Dursleys the news. They were quite unhappy that he would be enjoying himself, but unwillingly surrendered. They had not yet forgotten Harry's letter to Sirius. Around noon all four of them stood by the window wearily. "They will drive this time, correct?" Questioned Uncle Vernon angrily. "Er, um," Harry stuttered. He wasn't quite sure how they would come to pick him up. Last year they had used floo powder and two years before that it'd been a flying car.  
"They are driving?" said Uncle Vernon more edgily. Harry was silent. What could he do? "Well," he prodded.  
"Uh, um. I'm not exactly sure what," Harry's voice trailed off.  
"What," boomed Uncle Vernon. "You mean they could be arriving by-"  
Just then a black streetcar pulled up next to the Dursleys' house. A back door opened and Ron bounded out of the car. His father, Mr. Weasley and finally Mrs. Weasley, followed him.  
Dudley cowered behind Aunt Petunia as her and Uncle Vernon backed away. Their last experience with the Weasleys had not been a pleasant one. Harry, however, rushed to open the door. "You made it," he said jubilantly.  
"The ministry let us borrow a car to pick you up," said Ron. "We figured they," at this, he jerked his head towards the terrified Dursleys, "wouldn't want us arriving by magic again." The Dursleys flinched when Ron said the word "magic". "Are you ready to go?"  
"Yeah."  
"How nice to see you again dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry. "We just couldn't leave you here with them. Even for just one more day." The plump little woman shot the Dursleys a piercing look that made Dudley squirm.  
"It's nice to see you too, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley," Harry beamed.  
"What," Mr. Weasley replied. "Oh yes, lovely to see you. I was just looking at that over there. I wonder if you could tell me how it works?" He was pointing at a radio in the corner of the room. Mr. Weasley was fascinated with muggles.  
"Oh, that's a radio," said Harry. He was used to Mr. Weasley's curiosity about muggle things. "It's electrical."  
"Really? Ah yes I see the eclectric plug now. Marvelous, just mar-"  
"Arthur," scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Stop pestering the boy and help him carry his trunk to the car!"  
"Sorry Molly dear. I was just wondering-. I'm going Molly, I'm going," he said when Mrs. Weasley gave him a stern look.  
Mr. Weasley picked up Harry's school trunk and carried it to the car. He kept glancing at various things around the house as he walked through. It was obvious that he was holding back several questions about items he saw in the Dursleys' house. Mrs. Weasley was trailing him to the car, though, so Mr. Weasley couldn't ask the questions he wanted to.  
Harry glanced at the Dursleys and saw Uncle Vernon glare back. He picked up his Firebolt broomstick and followed Ron out the door. It was a bright summer day and it was all Harry could do to keep himself from hopping on his broomstick and flying around.  
"I can't wait to get to your house," Harry exclaimed. It was always exciting to go to Ron's house. Ron's family was entirely wizarding and Ron's house was full of magical things.  
"Yeah," answered Ron with the same enthusiasm. "I have a new book on the Chudley Cannons and it has amazing pictures in it! Mom wouldn't let me bring it, though. She was afraid I'd show it to you in front of the Dursleys and scare them. They looked scared enough already to me."  
Harry laughed. Scared wasn't strong enough a word for the Dursleys' phobia of things that were out of the ordinary. Their encounters with other wizards had not helped with their loathing of magic.  
  
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.) 


	2. Melanie L Bowman

Chapter Two  
  
Melanie L. Bowman  
  
Harry sighed with relief at the sight of the Weasleys' tall, rundown house. To him, home was either here or at Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley sluggishly dragged Harry's trunk up the front walk scattering chickens as he went. Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage and followed after him.  
Inside Ron's room at the top of the house, Harry unpacked his things. "Have you heard from Hermione?" Ron asked, setting Harry's Firebolt on the bed.  
Harry nodded, "She's somewhere in the United States with her cousin."  
"Lucky," Ron muttered. "I barely get to go anywhere. Well, except for Egypt last year." Harry shot him an amused look and pulled the letter from Hermione out of his school chest. Hurriedly he thrust it into Ron's hands, because he'd suddenly remembered about the invisible cake, or what was left of it. Harry tapped the platter still inside his trunk with his wand and frowned at the brown icing that had smeared all over his books.  
"Too bad we can't use magic over Summer Holiday," Ron chortled. Then Ron left to find a towel to clean up the mess, leaving Harry alone in the room. The door was open and Harry could hear the usual small explosions coming from one of the floors below.  
It was only three minutes before Ron returned. The two boys began cleaning and were finished in no time. When they had put everything in it's rightful place, Ron opened Hermione's letter and read through it. Harry in the meantime looked around Ron's room, which was covered from top to bottom with blazingly orange posters of the Chudley Cannons. The Chudley Cannons were Ron's favorite quidditch team.  
"Did you know Hogwarts is accepting transfer students this year," queried Ron out of the silence. He was still looking at Hermione's letter with a puzzled expression.  
"No," replied Harry. "I never even knew they didn't accept transfer students. I wonder if they are getting any other transfers besides Hermione's cousin this year."  
There was a knock on the door and Fred and George Weasley came into the room. They were tall with bright red hair and freckles like Ron. The twins' faces broke into identical grins when they saw Harry.  
"Too bad we couldn't come to pick you up Harry," said George. "We could've tested some of our new inventions on that cousin of yours," He winked. They laughed remembering when Fred and George had left one on their inventions on the Dursley's living room floor. It was a Ton-Tongue Toffee, which Dudley wasted no time in devouring. His tongue was several feet long before Mr. Weasley was finally allowed to shrink it.  
"Say, Harry," Fred said slyly, "would you like some raspberry tarts? We have plenty to share," he reassured Harry.  
Harry laughed. "No, I don't think so. I'll probably turn into a bird or something."  
"Actually, you would be spitting sparks out of your mouth for about an hour," Fred chuckled.  
"Well I am a bit hungry though." Harry turned to Ron.  
"Oh, right. We should go get some lunch from Mum. Fred, George, you coming?" Ron asked as he headed for the door.  
"Nah, we already ate," George answered. "Hey Fred, let's try our Foot Fungi Fudge on Percy!" The twins walked down to their room, all the while scheming a way to make Percy try their newest invention.  
"Well, to lunch then," Ron said starting down the steps. Harry followed in a better mood than he had been in for a while. The Weasleys' house always made him feel safe. He hoped that while he was there, the nightmares of Voldemort's return would trouble him less.  
  
The day flowed by quickly. Before Harry and Ron retired to bed they wrote a short letter to Hermione to tell her that Harry was at Ron's house. Ron also suggested that they all meet at the Leaky Cauldron one week before the school train left on September the first. They sealed the envelope and sent Hedwig on her way.  
Harry and Ron spent most of their time during that summer playing quidditch in the Weasleys' paddock. They barely ever saw Percy or Mr. Weasley who were busy working at the Ministry of Magic dealing with the panic that followed the rumors of Voldemort's return. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic had refused to accept the fact that Voldemort had returned, but the people who knew the rumor's truth including the Weasleys were doing everything in their power to prepare for his attacks that were certain to come.  
  
"Good morning, boys," Mrs. Weasley said in a warm voice one bright day as Harry slowly made his way into the kitchen followed by a bedraggled Ron. Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly and handed them both plates full of sausages, eggs, and toast. They accepted gratefully and sat down to eat their food. Harry saw two dirty plates on the table and knew that Percy and Mr. Weasley had left for work hours ago.  
Harry and Ron started their meal in silence. They were still tired from the events of the night before. That evening, Fred and George had managed to slip one of their joke shop inventions into Ginny's soup at dinner. Their invention was called Sour Singing Solution. It was intended to give the drinker ten other voices that all clashed with each other. That would have been bad enough, but something in the soup reacted with the solution and it backfired. Instead of speaking in ten different human voices, Ginny croaked in ten different frog voices for two hours. When the croaks first came out of her mouth, Mrs. Weasley had immediately turned to Fred and George as Ginny ran to her room and dissolved into tears. When Mrs. Weasley finally caught up with them, she gave Fred and George a very long and loud lecture then stomped off to comfort Ginny. Just then, Fred and George came sneaking into the room. They tried to quickly grab some toast and slip away, but Mrs. Weasley was ready for them. She grabbed them both by the ear and sat them down at the table across from Ron and Harry. With a cold glare, Mrs. Weasley placed two plates with one piece of toast and one piece of sausage each in front of the twins. George opened his mouth to say something, but quickly decided against it. Harry and Ron grinned across the table at Fred and George and they grinned back. Mrs. Weasley turned around to give them some orange juice and saw them grinning, but she didn't see Harry and Ron. "What are you two sniggering about? You had better not be planning to do something else to poor Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley cried out suddenly. "Mum, we" Fred tried to say something, but Mrs. Weasley kept shouting. "You can't keep inventing these silly tricks! Do you two realize that this is your last year at Hogwarts and you'll need to find jobs? I suggest you start studying for your N.E.W.T. this very day or you'll find yourselves without work and money! Look how well Percy did on his N.E.W.T. and see what a great job he has in the Ministry! At this rate you'll be lucky to be bus drivers!" Fred and George groaned at the comparison to their nearly perfect brother Percy, but Mrs. Weasley didn't notice. She would've continued her lecture for many more hours it seemed if Errol, the family owl, hadn't flown in the window, slid down the table, and crashed right into George's breakfast plate. "Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley muttered taking five letters from the collapsed owl. It was obvious by the writing on the front that they were the school supply lists from Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley seemed to be completely distracted by the arrival of the letters. She handed them to Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Ginny who appeared in the door to the kitchen at that moment. Ginny saw Harry and her face flushed. She was still embarrassed from the night before and Ginny had had a crush on Harry ever since she had laid eyes on him when he was boarding the train for Hogwarts in his first year. She was only one year younger than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny feigned a lack of interest, grabbed a couple pieces of toast, and carried Errol up the stairs to recover. Harry immediately opened his letter to see what he would need for his classes this year. The list looked much the same as it had the past four years with the addition of dress robes, which had been added in the past year. The students should only have needed them last year at the Triwizard Tournament dance, though. Why would they be needed this year, Harry wondered. Harry read the list over to himself and couldn't help taking a closer look at the Defense Against the Dark Arts supplies to try guessing the personality of the new teacher, but he couldn't determine anything. He would just have to wait and see. Fred and George had moved their seats closer to Harry and Ron. Fred whispered, "I can't believe they actually want us back this year." "Hogwarts will never be same when we're gone," George added dramatically. Ron snickered, "Yeah they won't have to worry about missing toilet seats." Harry heard Mrs. Weasley sigh worriedly and looked up to see that she was looking over George's list. Harry wished he could give them money, but any offer he could make would only embarrass them so he dared not try. They would make it by passing down books through the family the way they had always done it. Harry was glad that he had at least been able to give Fred and George his Triwizard Tournament winnings from that year. He had asked them to use it to start their joke shop after they graduated and judging by last night's episode, they fully intended to do just that.  
  
On a tepid morning near the end of August, Harry lay sleeping in a comfortable bed. Harry gently awoke, but did not open his eyes. He wanted to savor the peaceful moment and the smell of the fresh summer air before Aunt Petunia's voice called him back to reality. He lay in bed dreading to face the Dursleys. Harry was surprised when he heard the loud, but friendly voice of Mrs. Weasley instead. As he sat up in his bed he remembered that he was at the Burrow in Ron's room. Mrs. Weasley was waking all the children in the house to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Harry changed into his clothes and finished gathering his things for Hogwarts. He and the Weasleys would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron during the last week of summer along with Hermione and her family. Harry wondered briefly about Hermione's cousin Melanie. Mrs. Weasley hustled into Ron's room and was startled to find Harry awake and ready to go. She paused in the doorway and glanced at Ron. "Harry, could you wake him up, please?" Mrs. Weasley begged. She looked very frazzled and Harry knew she didn't have the time to wake Ron up. He had been about to wake Ron anyway and told Mrs. Weasley so. She thanked him and bustled out of the room again.  
Harry turned around to face Ron's bed. "Ron, wake up," Harry said shaking him by the shoulder. Ron didn't budge. "Ron," Harry said a little more forcefully.  
"But Fred, I don't wanna. No, I won't try that lollypop. It'll turn me into a chicken." Ron muttered in his sleep. Harry's mouth curved into a slight smile at the situation Ron was apparently in. "Ron, it's time to get up," Harry said. Ron didn't respond so Harry shook him harder. "B-bawk!" Ron cried out suddenly. He woke with a start and sprang up in bed. Ron blinked and looked around at Harry who was now chuckling. Ron colored when he realized that he had been talking in his sleep. Harry could tell that his temper was rising, but ignored it. "Your mom wanted me to wake you up. You need to finish packing your things and getting dressed," Harry said still grinning a little. He started packing away the Hogwarts robes Ron had laid out beside his trunk. Harry and Ron dragged their trunks down the stairs and handed them to Mr. Weasley who had taken a few hours off work to take their school things to the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. They both strode into the kitchen for breakfast. It looked as though the room had exploded. Everything was in chaos as people tried to snatch pieces of toast half in their pajamas and half in their day clothes. Fred and George had yet to pack all of their things for Hogwarts because they had apparently been working on Weasley's Wizzard Wheezes forms for their joke shop. Harry sat down at the kitchen table, which was covered with items that had been forgotten by the Weasleys in their haste. Harry and Ron ate quickly and went back upstairs to retrieve Hedwig. As Harry picked up Hedwig's cage a Barn owl flew in through Ron's open window. Ron reached over and took a letter from the large owl. "Who's it from," Harry asked. Ron showed him the front of the envelope. It was from his older brother Charlie who worked with Dragons in Romania. Harry set down Hedwig's cage as Ron opened the small letter. Ron read aloud. " Dear Ron and Harry,  
I wanted to tell you to practice protecting yourselves against  
dragons. I hope you won't really need it, but you should still  
practice just in case. You will be meeting one of my old friends at  
Hogwarts this year. His name is Amos Feldebar, but it would be best  
if you just called him Scar. Watch out for him, he is a Dragon Lord  
and can be very ill tempered at times. I can't tell you any more, I  
probably shouldn't even have told you this much. Have a good time at  
Hogwarts this year.  
With Love,  
Charlie"  
"Ron, what's a Dragon Lord?"  
"I-I don't know," Ron stammered. "Charlie's never said anything about Dragon Lords except that there aren't many left." Ron turned to see George peeking around the door, but just as he did, George left. Suddenly Ron remembered something he had wanted to talk to Harry about.  
"Er, Harry?" said Ron hesitantly.  
"Yeah?" Harry replied.  
"Have you heard anything about.You-Know-Who, lately?" Ron was speaking at a whisper that was barely audible. Harry, however, spoke in an almost normal voice giving Ron more confidence.  
"Yes, but it doesn't really make sense," Harry paused. He was confused by the news from Sirius and The Daily Prophet and wondered whether or not to tell Ron.  
"Well what was it," Ron said with a little more than a hint of impatience.  
"Did you read about a death rumored to be Voldemort's work in The Daily Prophet?"  
Ron flinched at Voldemort's name as almost all wizards did. "Yes I think so. Was it that lady found in her living room?"  
"Yes, that one."  
"I don't know, Harry. I mean it was just called a rumor and that article might have been written by someone like Rita Skeeter." Rita Skeeter had once been a reporter who had tried to make Harry look like a lunatic in their fourth year. She had secretly listened in on private conversations and used them to write vicious articles attacking Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid. No one knew how she was listening to the conversations, but at the end of the year Hermione discovered that she was an animagus.  
"That's what I thought at first, but Sirius sent a letter and he said it was Voldemort's work. He said he was after something, but he didn't know what." Harry wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said what he did because Ron's expression quickly changed from apprehension to surprise.  
Ron opened his mouth and closed it before managing to say, "oh" quietly.  
"Er, I've got Hedwig. Let's take her down to your dad."  
"Okay," Ron said trying to act normal again. He just wasn't ready to face Voldemort's attacks, but he knew it was the truth.  
As they were walking down the stairs, Ron suddenly blurted, "wonder what Melanie is like?"  
"Uhh, well I thought she looked kind of pretty-" Harry replied innocently.  
"So? She's American, some of them can be really pretty, but those ones you really have to look out for because they're vain. Plus a lot of pretty Americans are sassy."  
Harry was taken aback by Ron's small speech. "How would you know? You've never met an American."  
"Yeah, well." Ron stammered in his defense.  
Harry smiled. "I think you'd better keep those thoughts to yourself especially around Hermione and Melanie," he chuckled.  
Ron was slightly red on the tips of his ears, but he stayed silent.  
  
Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were gathered around the Weasleys deep fireplace. They were going to use Floo Powder to travel to Diagon Alley while Mr. Weasley took their things to their rooms at the Leaky Cauldron in a taxi. Harry had traveled with the Weasleys to Diagon Alley using Floo Powder in the summer of his second year, but it had not gone well. He had not spoken his destination clearly and landed in the dodgy Knockturn Alley full of dark shops.  
"Ginny, you go first," said Mrs. Weasley casually holding out a flowerpot full of Floo Powder. Ginny stepped up to the fireplace with its small orange fire. She took a small handful of the powder Mrs. Weasley held out and threw it into the fire. The fire turned green and grew several feet to the top of the fireplace as Ginny stepped in.  
"Diagon Alley!" Ginny shouted and disappeared.  
"Alright, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley. First Fred, then George, and Ron disappeared into a roaring green fire. Harry stepped up to the fire and was about to take some powder, but Mrs. Weasley had more to say about this. "Harry, are you sure you want to try this again?"  
"Yes," said Harry firmly.  
Mrs. Weasley looked uncertain as she thought about what had happened the last time Harry had used Floo Powder. "Well, just remember to say Diagon Alley very clearly," she said slowly. "Watch for the others, they should be waiting for you."  
"I will," Harry replied. He grabbed some powder, threw it into the flames and walked into the tall fire. "Diagon.Alley!" Harry coughed out, trying not to swallow too much soot. He closed his eyes as he began spinning incredibly fast. After a few moments he tried opening his eyes again. When he saw all the fireplaces rushing by he felt sick, but he tried hard to keep watching.  
Suddenly he saw Ron's face through one of the fireplaces. Harry's arms shot out and he fell forward out of the fireplace. Ron and George caught him before he hit the ground. "Thanks," he muttered. Harry looked around at the place he had come out. It was the back of the Leaky Cauldron at Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley came right after Harry and immediately took out a brush and wiped away the soot on Harry's robes, thankful that he had made it without a hitch this time. When she had finished, she brushed off each one of her reluctant children's robes. "We'll all stay together at Gringott's and then I'll send you off on your own," Mrs. Weasley explained as everyone filed out of the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley. At Gringott's Harry whispered to Mrs. Weasley that he wanted to go to his vault alone. She agreed and asked him to wait for them when he came back. He was more than willing to cooperate. Harry was thankful that the Weasleys weren't going to see the small fortune his parents had left him again. It was very large in comparison to the Weasleys' savings and he felt awkward when that fact was pointed out. While Harry was down under Gringott's in his vault he took as much money as he thought he might need that year and a little more to buy a few things he'd want. Harry gathered the money into a sack, which he tucked safely into his pocket and a goblin took him back up to the surface. He arrived in the long hall of Gringott's to find the Weasleys were already there. Harry joined them as they walked out onto the entrance steps of the wizard bank. "Fred, George I want to see you at the Leaky Cauldron by 5 o'clock sharp is that clear? And no wandering into Knockturn Alley," Mrs. Weasley said stiffly. "Harry and Ron, that goes the same for you and if you find Hermione ask her to come along and meet us at the Leaky Cauldron," she said sweetly. "Ginny you can come with me, but if we see Hermione you can finish your school shopping with her." Harry and Ron roamed around the streets of Diagon Alley buying their books, potions supplies, and other things they would need at Hogwarts. They stepped inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to finish up their school shopping. Ron looked over his supply list and moaned, "oh no, what am I going to do about dress robes? We need them again this year."  
Harry began to feel a little uncomfortable because he had enough money to buy himself a whole new set of robes plus new dress robes, which was exactly what he needed to do. He had had a large growth spurt during that summer and all his robes, including his dress robes, were now too short on him. Just then Fred and George walked into the store and Harry remembered giving them enough money to buy Ron some new dress robes. They walked through the store over to Harry and Ron.  
"Hey Ron, what's up," Fred asked seeing the worried expression on his face.  
"I don't know what to do about dress robes, I ruined that red one I had last year," Ron replied.  
"Oh don't worry about that," said George, "come to the fitting room we have a surprise for you."  
"Okay." The four of them walked back to the fitting room. Ron had no idea what was going on, but Harry was breathing a sigh of relief. The twins had remembered to buy him dress robes.  
"Excuse me, Madam Malkin," called Fred. A short, smiling witch quickly walked up to the group.  
"Yes," Madam Malkin said in a pleasant voice.  
"Ron Weasley's here to be fitted for his dress robes," replied George.  
"Ahh, yes I remember that order, made just a few hours ago. Come here Ron let's match you up with a lovely color."  
Ron was speechless. "B-but, I don't have enough money."  
"Nonsense dear it's already been paid for," Madam Malkin laughed. Ron looked at Fred and George.  
"We, er, acquired a bit of money," whispered Fred grinning. Madam Malkin led an astonished Ron off to look at robes. It didn't take very long for her to find him a handsome dark blue robe. Ron carefully tucked it into a bag still awestruck at his brothers' generosity.  
"There must be a hitch. What do you want me to do?" Ron was afraid of the answer.  
"Nothing. We just couldn't stand to see you in that dress robe again this year," George chimed innocently. Harry easily found a good dress robe for him and bought some new school robes. As they walked out the door, the twins winked at Harry and walked off down the street.  
"Looks like we're done buying school things. Let's have some ice cream at Florean Fortescue's," said Ron happily. Harry ordered a large sundae with caramel and chopped nuts while Ron had one with strawberries and whipped cream. They sat eating their ice cream and talking for a short while. Just as they finished Ron glanced past Harry and exclaimed, "look! It's Hermione!"  
Harry turned around in his chair and saw Hermione ordering some ice cream. He quickly stood up and followed in Ron's trail as he headed for Hermione. "Hermione! Over here," yelled Harry. Hermione spun to find the face that belonged to the voice calling her name. A broad smile spread across her face as she spotted Harry and Ron.  
Ron reached Hermione first and Harry came immediately after him. They said their 'hello's and exchanged quick descriptions of their summers. Then Hermione tapped a girl on the shoulder who was talking to someone else. She turned around to face Harry and Ron. "Harry, Ron, I'd like you to meet my cousin Melanie. Melanie these are my best friends from school."  
"Hi, nice to meet you," she said pleasantly in a thick American accent. She held out her hand and smiled. She was even prettier than she had looked in the picture, but Harry couldn't understand a word she had just said. The words had tumbled out of her mouth so fast it sounded like she was speaking an entirely different language.  
"What," said Ron perplexed. "Did you say you were going to chew something?"  
Melanie's smile faded. "No, I said NICE TO MEET YOU" she said very slowly and loudly so they could understand. She hadn't run into this problem with Hermione. Of course Hermione had met Americans before, though.  
  
"Oh, nice to meet you, too Melanie," Harry chimed in quickly. He shook her hand and nudged Ron. Ron shook her hand too, but it was very short. "Where do you come from in America? Have you lived in Galleon Avenue all your life," Harry said carefully. The smile returned to Melanie's face at his courtesy.  
"No, I'm actually from New York. My mom and I were there for vacation," Melanie replied politely. Harry could understand most of what she said, but he wasn't quite sure what Melanie had said she went to Galleon Avenue. He tried to piece it together for a moment, but couldn't.  
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "What did you say you went there for?"  
"My mom and I were on vacation," Melanie said a little more slowly. Harry was starting to cotton onto her accent despite her fast speech. Ron, however, didn't seem to know what had just taken place at all. Hermione saw Ron's puzzled expression and tried to help him out.  
"She's from New York, but she was vacationing in Galleon Avenue," Hermione whispered in his ear. Ron told Hermione he'd known what she said all along. He said he had just been thinking about something else, thank you very much.  
"Er, Hermione it's about time for us to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for supper. Melanie should come along, too. I'm sure the others would like to meet her," Harry said checking his watch. They set off toward the Leaky Cauldron just as it was about to turn 5 o'clock.  
They reached the Leaky Cauldron at two past five. "Oh, good timing," said Mrs. Weasley cheerily. "Hermione, dear how nice to see you again. And who's this," Mrs. Weasley asked warmly.  
"This is my cousin Melanie. She's transferring to Hogwarts this year."  
"Really? I didn't realize Hogwarts had started accepting transfers. Anyway, it's nice to meet you Melanie." Mrs. Weasley held out her hand. Melanie took it.  
"It's nice to meet you, too, but I don't know who you are," Melanie responded slowly so that Mrs. Weasley could understand her more easily. Mrs. Weasley seemed quite surprised when she heard Melanie speak. She hadn't known she was from America.  
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Ron's mother. You have met Ron right," Mrs. Weasley inquired.  
"Yes," Melanie answered with some ice in her voice. Ron hadn't made a very good first impression on her, but she apparently liked his mother. Everyone sat down to eat at a long table. She was seated next to Fred and he and George immediately struck up a conversation with her. They thought her to have a great sense of humor much like their own and unlike Ron and Harry they seemed to have no problem understanding her accent. Ginny also took a liking to her very quickly.  
  
(Disclaimer: We do not own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, plot ideas, nor places. Our story is an original one based upon the first four books written by J.K. Rowling and includes many things created by her. We are not making money in any way by creating this story.) 


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